NY chicken lover!!!!

[Cass]

Lynzi thanks for the info! Sounds like it's a good coop option! TY for the tips on putting it together too.

Rancher, Cat Stevens, good song! Love the math on the garlic. BTW, future MIL pays over $9.00 per lb. for garlic at the garlic festivals. She said she spent $84.00 at one festival.

We have to grow some for her, that's $$$$ for garlic. But if you could taste the food she makes, oh yum! She's an amazing cook.

Jlaw, that was smart to use candles like that! Hope all is well with your chicks!

That's the garlic you plant. The stuff she bought at the garlic festival. It has not been sprayed with growth inhibitor and if she bought it she must like it, right? Someone went to a garlic festival and gave me a bag of garlic from her 5 pound bag. I planted half of it in a bed that has reoccuring crops in it (between the aspargus, etc). Hoping for a nice harvest so I can give some back to the donor.

 

[horsekeeper]

Here's my one 4x8 raised bed from last year full of popcorn. After the corn was pulled up I added some chicken coop compost and planted garlic. Hope it does well, and if it does there will be lots of it!



Surrounded with chicken wire to keep the devils from scratching it all up, and then was happy to have it when the wind got so powerful it was knocking tall plants over. Two packets of seed and got about a bushel of popcorn ears.

 

[Lynzi777]

I want to make some raised beds along the back of my house but it doesn't full sun all day. Only about 1/2 the day. Is there anything that I would be able to plant there that would do well and doesn't need full sun?

 

[why do birds]

That's the garlic you plant. The stuff she bought at the garlic festival. It has not been sprayed with growth inhibitor and if she bought it she must like it, right? Someone went to a garlic festival and gave me a bag of garlic from her 5 pound bag. I planted half of it in a bed that has reoccuring crops in it (between the aspargus, etc). Hoping for a nice harvest so I can give some back to the donor.

Ahh very nice! Hope you get a good crop! I should call future MIL to make sure she didn't eat it all yet! Maybe we'll get something, or maybe if she used it all, she can get the kind she likes in the summer and we can plant it in the fall. Oh happy days ahead if we get some nice garlic variety! You grow your own asparagus? That's very nice!

 

[rancher hicks]

Last year I planted garlic and got nothing. I am confused as to when to plant it. I got some more and planted it last fall in my flower beds which are years in the making hoping the soil would be better for garlic. I put markers with them so I don't pull them as weeds.

Do you recommend a certain kind? And when is it best to plant? I use some for cooking but the majority I give to the hens to boost their immune systems

1. When did you plant it? Garlic is best planted in late fall/early winter. Plant it about 4 - 6" deep and cover with straw or hay after the first frost.

2. Where did you buy your bulbs ? Grocery store garlic can sometimes be planted but it's better to buy bulbs at the Farmers Market. Local growers will have the best kind for your area. I've read that all garlic varieties are similar to each other, just given different names.

3. How did you plant it? Garlic is made up of "cloves" . These should be broken apart and planted 4 - 5 " apart, pointed end up. The larger the cloves the bigger the bulb you will harvest at mid to late summer.

4. What type of soil did you plant it in? Loamy soil is best that has good drainage. It like full sun. Takes about 8 months to mature.

5. There are two types of garlic. Hard neck and soft neck. I believe it is the Hardneck that form what are called "Scapes",. these are seed pods on top of long stalks. In order for the bulbs to form they must be cut off as soon as they show up. Many times you will see them sold in baskets. The can be used to make Pesto or grilled. If they are NOT cut off the plant will got to seed and the bulb will be used up.

Similar to onions and tulips.


The "Scape " in this picture has started to go to seed.

It should have been cut off at this point. You can cut it off a few inches down the stalk. I've had Scapes saute'd at the Copper Turret in Morrisville and mistook it for Asparagus. They're very good.

 

[JLaw]

If you have hot water, fill just jugs with how water and place them in the brooder if you can. That should keep them warm enough until the electricity comes back on.

Didn't think of that, but sadly I don't think I could fill a jug. Well water don't work to well with out electric to run pump. We do get to keep alittle pressure from the bladder but not sure how much pressure. I'll try the jug thing next time.

 

[rancher hicks]

I want to make some raised beds along the back of my house but it doesn't full sun all day. Only about 1/2 the day. Is there anything that I would be able to plant there that would do well and doesn't need full sun?

You can plant Hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts or Heuchera. I will say my chickens ate the bleeding hearts and will eat hostas.

As for vegetables ? I would try tomatoes, garlic or beans. They say that Currants, gooseberries and raspberries will tolerate some shade but I wonder how well they'd produce. 1/2 a days sun is still quite a bit.

 

[JerseyHen]

I posted this in the southern NY page, but with all this talk of raised beds, I think you all might find this very interesting. It is how to get 100 lbs of potatoes in 4 square feet using a raised bed model. Essentially you make a 4 by 4 raised bed and plant seed potatoes in it and then keep adding boards and soil as the plant grows and it keeps making layers of potatoes and then you harvest by taking the bottom boards off and "stealing" potatoes as you need them. It is too intriguing not to, even if you have the space to do it the conventional way.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-grow-100-pounds-of-potatoes-in-4-square-feet-81760

http://seattletimes.com/html/homegarden/2002347126_potatoes25.html

 

[why do birds]

Ahh Rancher, we get a lot of those little "scapes". Are those seeds in the scapes possible to plant? I have a bag of them. We always left them on and thought we were only getting little tiny garlic bulbs.

I'm going to try to cut off those little scape things when they come up and see if it grows a bigger bulb this year! Thanks for the info!

 

[marquisella]

Ahh Rancher, we get a lot of those little "scapes". Are those seeds in the scapes possible to plant? I have a bag of them. We always left them on and thought we were only getting little tiny garlic bulbs.

I'm going to try to cut off those little scape things when they come up and see if it grows a bigger bulb this year! Thanks for the info!

If you don't cut the scapes down, the garlic will not develop. You want to start with the bigest bulbs you can. I don't know if those "seed" bulbs will produce, but I imagine they might.